The French ambassador in Ankara Charles Fries said on Friday that France supports the moderate opposition fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and that his country is committed to Syria’s and Iraq’s unity, as well as protecting Turkey’s security.
Speaking to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, Fries said that France is “in favor of Syria’s unity, and – just like Turkey – we are against views for the country’s ethnic or denominational partitioning.”
The French Ambassador stressed that “Paris wants Bashar al-Assad to leave after the start of a transition period. Because Assad, who became an executioner of the Syrian people, cannot at all represent a future for them.”
Fries expressed regret over the PYD militias’ exploitation of the chaos resulting from the Russian aerial campaign and regime offensive around Aleppo to its advantage.
Violent clashes between rebel fighters and the PYD militias continued on the outskirts of Aleppo after a number of PYD militants managed to smuggle themselves onto a hill overlooking the Castillo Road, the rebels’ last supply line to the city.
Sources told the Anadolu Agency that the Russian air force is supporting the PYD elements in their attempts to cut off the Castillo Road, adding that Russian airstrikes on Friday hit the rebel-held parts of Aleppo.
PYD snipers are also targeting civilians traveling on the Castillo road, killing a civilian today in stark violation of the “cessation of hostilities” that was announced on February 27. (Source: Anadolu Agency)
